Stage 16 Google bike directions are definitely beta [WAS-17, USA-nil]

31 August 2010 – Completed a 42 miles of the Mississippi River Trail between Dyersburg and Munford TN. The 16.5 mile stretch at the top of the trail ran on top of a levee, flat as can be. The remainder was up and down as the heat and humidity kept going up and up. By the end I was completely exhausted. I am contemplating a rest day tomorrow. After talking to Dad I think we will try to wrap up the Tour in New Orleans in 5 or 6 days. Yesterday I forgot to mention I had one of the best hamburgers of my life in a café called MeMaw’s in Hickman TN. Somehow we lost our laundry bag with two pair of socks, underware and two Tour t-shirts. Lucky I did the laundry yesterday so the bag was nearly empty. The biggest loss was bur cribbage board, which we also stored in the laundry bag. I am tired and going to bed.

Thought for the day: No board, no 19 hands.

More YouTube Video on 1 September

See it, you'll love it.

The Tour Corn to Kelloggs

The Tour Water Moments

Stage 15 -- I'm just lucky [WAS-16, USA-nil]

30 August 2010 -- As luck would have it our Quality Motel was right on the intersection of an Interstate and a local road I thought would be good for biking. It was. It was part of the Mississippi River Trail system that is complete from there to New Orleans. We are going to try and make the rest of our miles on the MRT – if I can find maps and directions. We are still skipping down the road. Much more than in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but at least equaling Illinois. By my current projections when we reach New Orleans, I will have done slightly more than 800 miles on the bike, and we will have put more than 3000 miles on the car, that’s how much scouting roads and finding suitable motels (we’re not motel snobs, but close) has cost us. All for a journey that Google says is 1440 miles long.

As I was pedaling today I was struck by how much good fortune we have had. Today was the 16th day of pedaling and we have been rained out (that only partially) once. As we came south the cool weather has seemed to envelope us, and even though some days rose into the mid 80’s, I have only ridden in truly hot conditions 3 or 4 times. Earlier starts the last three days have helped in this. Today it was overcast and windy so I was actually cold while I was riding. I soak one or two t-shirts every 10-12 miles. This is a peculiar sensation because when I stop, I start getting hot immediately. Changing shirts restores my equilibrium for a while. .At our last rendezvous before the end of the ride Dad and I were talking when Mike B rode up in his pick-up and we talked cycling. He gave me a lot of helpful information about the MRT, told me about the Tour of Corn (Mike if you read this, send me some more information via a , comment on this blog. If you leave an email address, I will get back to you.), and then we talked about AZ immigration, Obama, and taxes – I was in conversation heaven. He started to leave when he slammed on the brakes and said. OHOH! I don’t think the ferry runs on Monday and Tuesday. My jaw dropped as I pondered how we were going to get out of the cul-de-sac I had ridden us into. Mike whips out his phone calls the ferry, is quiet for a moment as he listens, and says, “You’re in luck. The ferry is running 7 days a week now.

Ferry video is coming shortly. The third best thing of the day was meeting Mike. The second best was the actual ferry ride (on which we were the sole passengers, and for which we had to press a button on a pole in the middle of nowhere to call. But the best thing was hearing my Dad say, “I am really glad you chose to come this way. Ever since you mentioned ferry, I really wanted to make the crossing.

Thought for the day: Sometimes you do exactly what you want, and the world around you is in complete synch.

Stage 14 -- Still searching for roads [WAS-15, USA-nil]

29 August 2010 -- The road out of Waterloo was perfect and a seven o’clock start meant two hours of riding in cool temperatures. About 30 miles out of Waterloo the shoulder started to deteriorate and then disappeared altogether. Picked up the bike and we drove a while. In a new highway section, the shoulder was good again so we unpacked the bike and I started riding again. It wasn’t long before the shoulder disappeared completely again. I had reservations, and Dad was completely against riding on the road there. He is my Dad. I recorded it as a 40-mile day. We kept driving. About 40 miles from Cairo, the good shoulder returned and I decided that we would get a motel in Cairo and return tomorrow to do that stretch. The only problem was there was we did not encounter a single habitable motel in Cairo (I don’t think any of the stimulus package has reached Cairo). I said we would do that stretch on the way back to Wisconsin – as it will be on our way and it is ride-able. We crossed the bridge and headed west into Missouri. We have identified a route that looks good and will take us to the ferry into Kentucky on the east side of the Mississippi. I am sitting here waiting for the local news because it has been getting increasingly overcast all day, and there have been drizzles tonight. It strikes me that the riding each day – the three and a half to four and a half hours – is the calmest part of the day. In the morning I pack the car and take Sam for a long walk. Then we go to a local place for breakfast. After, off we go to the start. At the end of the ride, its find a motel and unpack, then a long hot shower. We are always shopping for something – drinks, ice, a timer, toothpaste, snacks, gas, not to mention the laundry I wrote about earlier. During all of this I walk Sam at least twice more – long walks that Dad is not able to do – so that she will sleep through the night. It’s part of a deal I made with her. Writing the blog, udloading the video clips and making the movies average at least an hour a night. All these details fill up my day, but I am content because I have never spent this much time alone with my Dad. Despite his hearing loss, lapses in memory, and a little bit of confusion on the roads, the time is beyond valuing.

Thought for the day: Overall, I have been impressed with the road-bike worthiness of the roads of Wisconsin, but singularly unimpressed by those of Illinois.

Stage 13 -- In Corn Country [WAS-14, USA-nil]

28 August 2010. After 39 miles from Taylorville to near Mulberry Grove, big hills, a head wind, the heat/humidity and a head cold reduced me to exhaustion and I stopped after 3 and a half hours riding. Then we started hunting for a suitable road south. We finally ended up in Waterloo and will try Route 3 down to Cairo. It’s a two or three day trip on the same road – given my current level of performance. Here and there I look for signs of political anger and I have to admit I haven’t seen much. I do ask a specific question of those who are willing to answer it. “Did you vote for Obama?” and if they say yes I ask “How’s that working for you?” The best answer was from an Iowa man vacationing in Chetek Wisconsin who said “The first time.” Otherwise here on the byways of America, I mostly see farmers, truckers, waiters and waitresses, and a lot of closed business. If people are angry, they aren’t sharing it with me. Of course I see a lot of them as I speed by at 12-15 mph. Conversations then are quite short. This laptop is a great convenience. I keep up with company finances, political news (I even wrote a comment to an article by Mort Zuckerman on RealClearPolitics, signing it WStock on the Tour of Water Balloons). Speaking of the Tour, the score is now quite lopsided – I am beating the stuffing out of the country. Na Na Na Na NaNa…

Thought for the day: It could be worse, say if there weren’t elections coming in just weeks now.

Response to Pam: Thanks for the encouragement. Dad says hello, that we are making good time, and that Sam has been really well-behaved. I second that thought. As for what I write, I would use the word musing rather than diatribe – diatribe is more harsh than what I do.

Stage 12 -- Retired. [WAS 13, USA nil]

27 August 2010 – We moved 50.4 miles south on county roads of which I did 45 (minus 5 miles for skipping a gravel patch and two side to side movements). Aside from the rainout on day 4 (and discounting the 12 miles spent going in circles around Loon Lake) I have ridden and we have scouted roads every day. We have taken no breaks. Yesterday I asked Dad if he wanted to stay over in Lincoln as they were having a balloon festival. He wasn’t interested. I sense that he wants to get home as soon as possible (he worries when I am on these county roads) and all of this starting and stopping and looking for (oft missing) route and town signs is a bit disorienting. The best strategy is to send him down the road 6 minutes and pull over. That gives him time to walk the dog and read a little. I have averaged a little under 36 miles per day with the average still increasing. Today was all against a steady breeze on rough roads. I am tired. Scouting only took 5 minutes today as it is a straight shot on Nokomis Rd to Mulberry Grove. As we had time on our hands, Dad said it was time for new tires on the car. Walmart Supercenter here we come.

Thought for the day: Old girl friends whom you haven't contacted in 48 years do not stay in Taylorville.

New Video on YouTube

There are three new posts on YouTube

The Tour Balloon Moments
The Tour The Dells
The Tour Herb Moments

The last is mostly for my brother, but if you're having trouble getting out of bed, consider it applicable. It will be posted tomorrow 28 August.